When we examine closely our Islamic laws, we find that they are most protective of the purity of Muslims, in both the abstract[1] and real sense of the word. They cover every type of moral filth and impurity, even extending to the act of insulting people, cursing them or calling them abusive names. These laws also prohibit scoffing at or ridiculing individuals or Muslim societies. Speaking unfavourably of others is lawful in a few essential cases, such as declaring a witness unreliable in a case of law, exposing one or more narrators of the Prophet’s Ahadith if any of them are inaccurate, speaking frankly about a Muslim when marriage is involved, in matters of financial or real estate trust, or employment. In such necessary cases, it is lawful to expose the truth even if such persons have moral defects. This is not a form of slandering or backbiting.
Unfortunately, on the streets, in official organisations or popular gatherings, one may hear people reviling others, calling them names, or scoffing at them. All this happens despite the fact that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “A believer is never a person who scoffs at others, calls them names, or utters vulgar and obscene phrases” (Tirmithi).
This Hadith indicates that slandering people, belittling them and cursing them are all prohibited acts. A true believer is a decent person who uses polite phrases when he talks. The Holy Qur’an taught us to use decent phrases as evidenced in its discussion of delicate acts, such as expressing the act of having marital relations with one’s spouse is described by the use of the term “touch” your wife.
Abu Tharr al-Ghifaari reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “If a person accused another person of depravity or atheism, such an accusation applies to the accuser unless the accused is actually immoral or rejects faith”. (Bukhari).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, also said: “Reviling[2] a Muslim is an act of outrage (moral depravity) and fighting against him is an act of disbelief (Kufr)”. (Bukhari and Muslim).
In the case of a dispute arising between two persons, neither should have recourse to using vulgar and obscene phrases, reviling the other party or calling him names. Acting in this manner makes the dispute more complex and difficult to settle. One of the disputants may have been the victim of injustice, but this does not grant him the right to abuse the other party or call him names.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “The one who starts abusing his fellow Muslim and calling him names bears the sin of both, unless the abused person uses more vulgar phrases than the first”. (Muslim) Imaam al-Nawawi explained this prophetic saying as thus: “This means that the person who starts insulting a Muslim or calling him names will bear the sin incurred by such an act for both of them, unless the second party uses more severe and vulgar phrases than the first”. Yet, sticking to patience and forgiving people is far better for the Muslim. Allah said which means: “But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs.” (Al-Shooraa: 43)
Our religion does not even allow us to revile and abuse the sinner. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “A man drank alcohol so he was brought before the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who said: “Beat him (according to the rules set by Allah).” Abu Hurairah said: Some of us beat him with our hands, others with their sandals and still others with pieces of cloth. When the man went away, some said: May Allah humiliate you! Whereupon, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Do not say that. Do not support Shaytaan against your fellow brother.” (Bukhari).
Imaam Ibn ‘Illaan al-Siddeeqi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “The meaning of this prophetic saying is that the aim of Shaytaan, when he opens the gates of sins to the believers, is to heap humiliation upon them. Invoking Allah against the sinner, as the Companions did, leads to humiliating the sinner, which is the very aim of Satan. Therefore, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, prohibited them from invoking Allah against the drunkard”.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, also said: “If a person accused his slave of adultery, he will be punished with the retribution set by Allah on the Day of Judgment unless his slave is really an adulterer.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
This great prophetic saying points out the crime of the person who accuses others of adultery even if the accused is a slave. So what about those people who consider that one of the proofs of a strong relationship between them is their reviling and abusing each other? Such a person may accuse the other’s mother or sister of adultery while the other side is content and he may even laugh considering that this is a sign of a lasting friendship and strong relationship.
Servants of Allah! Cursing people as well as calling them names is a type of verbal abuse.
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “A true believer is never used to cursing others”. (Muslim)
Abu Ad-Dardaa’, may Allah be pleased with him, also reported that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “People who curse others will never be witnesses or intercessors on the Day of Judgment” (Muslim).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, also said: “Do not curse each other and do not summon the wrath of Allah or His Hell on each other”. (Abu Daawood and Tirmithi)
Thaabit Ibn Al-Dahhaak, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “If a person perjures himself by swearing by a religion other than Islam, then he is as he professed. Whoever kills himself with a tool, he will be punished with the very same tool on the Day of Judgment. A man should not make a vow regarding things that he does not possess. Cursing a believer is just like the act of killing him” (Bukhari and Muslim).
The meaning of the first sentence of the abovementioned prophetic saying is as follows: If a person said, “If I have done so and so, I am a Jew or a Christian” and he did, he is a Jew or a Christian as he professed. If he meant this and insists that he’s telling the truth, then he becomes a disbeliever (Kaafir). However, if he just wanted to exaggerate so as to prevent himself from doing a certain act and therefore never intended to desert the Islamic religion, then he is just a sinner who should ask Allah for forgiveness because of the sin he has committed.
The meaning of the last sentence in the above Hadith is that the crime of cursing a believer is similar to the crime of killing him.
Also, a Muslim may not curse his riding animal, car, house or any of his personal belongings. This is, again, a prohibited act in Islam.
‘Imraan Ibn al-Husayn, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, was travelling when a woman of the Ansaar cursed her she-camel because it made her furious. The Prophet heard the curse and upon this he said: “Take away the luggage which the she-camel carries and let her away, because she is cursed”. ‘Imraan said: I have seen the she-camel walking in the streets and nobody ever pays attention to her.” (Muslim).
It is allowed to curse sinners in general (and not in particular) as Allah said which means: “Behold! The curse of Allah is on those who do wrong!” (Hud: 18).
“The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, cursed the one who indulges in usury, the agent, the witness and the one who writes up the contract. (Bukhari).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said that Allah curses the person who changes the boundaries of the land (as a sort of deceiving others).
He also said: “Allah curses the thief who steals (even) an egg.” (Bukhari).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, also said: “Allah curses the one who curses his parent” (Muslim).
“He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, invoked curses on the tribes of R’al, Thakwaan and ‘Aseyyah who disobeyed Allah and His Messenger” (Muslim).
He sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam also said: “Allah cursed the men who imitate women and the women who imitate men” (Bukhari).
In all these Ahaadith, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, did not curse a certain person, rather he cursed whoever commits such evil deeds as a sort of warning against them.
We seek refuge in Allah and hope that we will not be damned. We invoke Allah, the All Merciful, to guide us so that we could escape the path of the damned.
Thanks be to Allah, the All Merciful, the Most Compassionate. We thank Him and repent to Him and ask Him for forgiveness.
We testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who said: “Indecency and obscene words distort any act, while courteousness embellishes any good act”.
The Islamic law prohibits the act of unjustifiably reviling and abusing the dead and it warns against harming the dead because of his innovation in religion or immorality.
‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Do not revile the dead, because they have already faced their destiny (be it good or bad).” (Bukhari).
The meaning of the Hadith is that the dead has already been commissioned with the consequences of his deeds, whether good or bad; accordingly, the Hadith warns against reviling them especially if they are Muslims.
Sadly, some people may insult or verbally abuse their children as well as invoke Allah against them. Some may even curse themselves, their servants and even invoke ruin against their property.
Jaabir bin ‘Abdullaah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: Do not invoke ruin against your property for when you do so, it may be an hour of accepting invocation (and you face such disaster) (Muslim).
Ubay, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “There are three invocations which Allah will undoubtedly accept: the invocation of the oppressed, that of the traveler and the father’s invocation against his son” (Tirmithi).
Glory be to Allah. What a great religion! What a supreme law! Only the pious people will stick to this religion that gives us a full account of even minute details of this life. Are we going to stick to this religion? Yes, God willing. We shall stick to the path of Allah and follow the example of Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
[1] Abstract concepts of purity, such as purity of intentions (niyyah), heart, language or relationships, etc. Real concepts of purity refer to the physical sense which would include making ablution, wearing clean clothes, etc.
[2] The word “revile” includes in its meaning: to call bad names, abuse with words, to speak abusively, to insult, to blaspheme, curse, to swear or to exchange insults or abusive language.

A glimpse of Paradise
Allah the Almighty has created Paradise for His believing slaves; He has created in it pleasures that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and no mind could ever comprehend. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Allah, the Exalted, has said: ‘I have prepared for my righteous slaves (in Paradise) what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the mind of no man has conceived.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
There are many verses in the Qur’an that describe Paradise and some of what it contains; the following are a collection of some of them:
l It is a wide space:
{“And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden [i.e. Paradise] as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous.”} [Qur’an, 3: 133]
l It is an eternal abode:
{“Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer.”} [Qur’an, 18: 108]
l It contains gardens beneath which rivers flow:
{“Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allah is greater. It is that which the great attainment is.”} [Qur’an, 9: 72]
l Its food and shade are everlasting:
{“The example [i.e. description] of Paradise, which the righteous have been promised, is [that] beneath it rivers flow. Its fruit is lasting, and its shade. That is the consequence for the righteous…”} [Qur’an, 13: 35]
l Its drinks and foods are delicious and varied:
{“…the description of Paradise, which the righteous are promised, wherein are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of purified honey, in which they will have from all [kinds of] fruits and forgiveness from their Lord…”} [Qur’an, 47: 15]
l Its inhabitants are adorned with gold and pearl jewellery:
{“[For them are] gardens of perpetual residence, which they will enter. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls…”} [Qur’an, 35: 33]
l Its furniture is extremely beautiful from the exterior, and it is lined with silk that is decorated with gold:
{ “[They are] reclining on beds whose linings are of silk brocade and the fruit of the two gardens is hanging low.”} [Qur’an, 55: 54]
l In Paradise, men are given Hoor, the special women of Paradise, in addition to the wives to whom they were married in this life:
{“And with them will be women limiting [their] glances, with large, [beautiful] eyes, As if they were [delicate] eggs, well protected.”} [Qur’an, 37: 48-49]
l The people of Paradise will be served by beautiful youths who will never die:
{“There will circulate among them young boys made eternal. When you see them, you would think them [as beautiful as] scattered pearls.”} [Qur’an, 76: 19]
l Its utensils are made of gold and silver:
{“‘Enter Paradise, you and your kinds, delighted.’ Circulated among them will be plates and vessels of gold. And therein is whatever the souls desire and [what] delights the eyes, and you will abide therein eternally.”} [Qur’an, 43: 70-71]
l The climate in Paradise is both moderate and pleasant:
{“[They will be] reclining therein on adorned couches. They will not see therein any [burning] sun or [freezing] cold.”} [Qur’an, 76: 13]
l The children of the dwellers of Paradise will be raised to their rank, even if they were to fall short of it. This is so that the joy of the dwellers of Paradise will be completed by the presence of their children:
{“And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith – We will join with them their descendants, and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds. Every person, for what he earned, is retained.”} [Qur’an, 52: 21]
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “The first group (of people) to enter Paradise will be shining like the moon on a full-mooned night. Then will come those who follow them, who will be (shining) like the brightest planet in the sky. They (i.e., all the people of Paradise) will not stand in need of urinating, defecating, spitting, or blowing their noses. Their combs will be of gold and their sweat will smell of musk. Their wives will be large-eyed maidens. All the men (in Paradise) will be alike and in the form of their father Aadam - sixty cubits tall.”” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
The greatest pleasure of the dwellers of Paradise will be the sight of their Lord. When the dwellers of Paradise see Him, they will forget everything, including all the types of pleasure that they had previously enjoyed.
The bounty of seeing Allah in Paradise is one of its distinct features, and is a means of Allah The Almighty honouring its dwellers:
{“[Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, Looking at their Lord.”} [Qur’an, 75: 22-23]
Meaning that the faces of the believers will be beautified and joyful as a result of their looking at the Face of their Lord, as was stated by Imaam al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy upon him.
Allah The Almighty also Says: {“For them who have done good is the best [reward] — and extra…”} [Qur’an, 10: 26] The ‘best reward’ in this verse refers to Paradise, and the ‘extra’ is to be given permission to look at the Face of Allah. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, clarified in the following narration: Suhayb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “When the inhabitants of Paradise enter it, Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, will say to them: ‘Do you wish for me to give you anything more?’ They will reply: ‘Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not brought us into Paradise and delivered us from Hell?’ Then, Allah will remove the Veil (that screens Him from the believers); the (dwellers of Paradise) will then feel that they have not been awarded anything dearer to them than looking at their Lord.” [Muslim] Then he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, recited the verse (i.e., the 26th verse of Chapter Yoonus).”
Having known the greatest bounty and pleasure which the dwellers of Paradise will attain is looking at the Face of their Lord, it becomes evident how deprived the sinners are and how great their loss is. They will be prevented from seeing the Face of their Lord, as Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {“No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned”} [Qur’an, 83: 15]

Reward for women in Paradise
Allah The Almighty clarifies (what means): {“And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even by as much as] the speck on a date seed.”} [Qur’an, 4: 124] This reflects the kindness of Allah The Almighty and informs us that He will deal fairly and equally with both males and females in terms of accepting their good deeds; He will not wrong anyone by even an amount as small as the ‘speck’ on the date seed, which is a reference to the very fine membrane that covers it.
In this verse, Allah The Almighty informs women specifically that He will not wrong them, provided they fulfil the condition in it (which means): {“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer— We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.”} [Qur’an, 16: 97] Imaam Ibn Katheer, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “This is a promise from Allah to anyone from the children of Aadam, whether male or female, who perform good deeds, which (of course) are those deeds that are in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and who perform them whilst their hearts believe in Allah and His Messenger, that they will live a good life.”
If women still doubt their reward in the Hereafter, then the following narration ought to put their mind at ease. Umm ‘Umaarah, may Allah be pleased with her, went to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Why are women not mentioned in the Qur’an as much as men are?” So Allah The Almighty revealed the verse (which means): {“Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.”} [Qur’an, 33: 35] [At-Tirmithi]